Cuban cuisine is largely based onSpanish cuisine with influence from Amerindian, African and otherCaribbean cuisines. Some Cuban recipes share spices and techniques with Spanish,Taíno and African cooking, with some Caribbean influence in spice and flavor. This results in a blend of several different cultural influences. A small but noteworthy Chinese influence can also be accounted for, mainly in theHavana area. There is also some Italian influence. During colonial times,Cuba was an important port for trade, and the Spanish ancestors of Cubans brought with them the culinary traditions of different parts of Spain.[1]
As a result of thecolonization ofCuba bySpain, one of the main influences on the cuisine is from Spain.[2] Other culinary influences include theTaíno, the indigenous people of Cuba; Africa, from the Africans who were brought to Cuba asslaves; and French, from the French colonists who came to Cuba fromHaiti.[3] Another factor is that Cuba is an island, making seafood something that greatly influences Cuban cuisine. Another contributing factor to Cuban cuisine is that Cuba is in atropical climate, which produces fruits and root vegetables that are used in Cuban dishes and meals.[4]
A typical meal containsrice and black beans, either cooked together or separately. When cooked together, they are referred to ascongrí orMoros orMoros y Cristianos (lit.'Moors and Christians') withMoros referring to theblack beans, andCristianos to thewhite rice. If cooked separately, they are simply calledarroz con frijoles (rice with beans) orarroz y frijoles (rice and beans).[5]
ACuban sandwich (sometimes called amixto, especially in Cuba[6][7]) is a common lunch item that grew out of the once-open flow of cigar workers between Cuba and Florida (specificallyKey West and theYbor City neighborhood ofTampa) in the late 19th century and has since spread to otherCuban American communities.[8][9][10]
The sandwich is built on a base of lightly butteredCuban bread and contains sliced roastpork, thinly slicedSerrano ham,Swiss cheese,dill pickles, andyellow mustard. In Tampa,Genoa salami[11] is traditionally layered in with the other meats, probably due to the influence ofItalian immigrants who lived alongside Cubans and Spaniards in Ybor City.[12]Tomatoes andlettuce are available additions in many restaurants, but these are considered by traditionalists as unacceptable Americanizations of the sandwich.[6][13]
After assembly, the Cuban sandwich may be pressed in a grooveless panini-type grill called aplancha, which both heats and compresses the contents.[6]
^Stern, Jane and Michael (2009).500 Things to Eat before It's Too Late and the Very Best Places to Eat Them. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.ISBN978-0-547-05907-5.
Aróstegui, Gonzalo, et al.:Manual del Cocinero Criollo, Cuba, 19th century.
Buchmann, Christine. "Cuban Home Gardens and Their Role in Social–Ecological Resilience." Human Ecology: An Interdisciplinary Journal 37.6 (2009): 705–721. 16 Jan. 2010.
Warwick, Hugh. "Cuba's Organic Revolution." Forum for Applied Research & Public Policy 16:2(2001): 54–58. 27 Feb. 2010.
Historical aspects of Cuban cuisine
Brenner, Philip, Jimenez, Marguerite, Kirk, John, and Leo Grunde, William. A Contemporary Cuba Reader: Reinventing the Revolution. Rowman and Littlefield Publication. 2008.
Harpers Weekly. Starvation in Cuba. The New York Times: May 30, 1897.
Hernandez, Rafael. Looking at Cuba: Essays on Culture and Civil Society. University of Florida Press, 2003. P. 101
Houston, Lynn Marie. Food Culture Around the World: Food Culture in the Caribbean. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2005. Pg. 115–116.
Maria Josefa Lluria de O’Higgins. A Taste of Old Cuba: More Than 150 Recipes for Delicious, Authentic, and Traditional Dishes Highlighted with Reflections and Reminiscences. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. 1994.
Pieroni, Andrea and Price, Lisa L. Eating and Healing: Traditional Food as Medicine. New York, 2006. Haworth Press Inc.
Randelman, Mary U. and Schwartz, Joan, Memories of a Cuban Kitchen: More than 200 classic recipes. New York: Macmillan. 1992.
